Police struggle to balance South Side's disparate needs

Focus on violent crime forces cuts in foot patrols and leaves businesses feeling vulnerable

Sunday, September 14, 2003

By John Dobberstein
Staff writer

A female cop who used to patrol Michigan Avenue on foot wasn't coming around anymore.

"Not only was she here to patrol the area, she made friends here, and we counted on her," said the 79-year-old Johnson, who works for L&J Furniture, which has been in Roseland for 18 years.

"The drug dealers and the prostitutes and other people were scared. Now some of it is coming back. Now they're coming back to the corners."

Chicago police quietly eliminated foot patrols in Roseland's shopping district this year, much to the dismay of business owners who depend on shoppers for their livelihood.

Calumet District Cmdr. Sidney Kelly instead chose to put more police officers in beat cars to crack down on prostitution, drug dealing and gang activity in the neighborhoods.

Elsewhere on the South Side — including in Beverly Hills, Morgan Park, Chinatown and South Chicago — foot patrols can be found, sometimes quite regularly.

The conflicting police needs of South Side communities illustrates the tough choices that Chicago's next police superintendent will face in trying to please both crime-weary residents and special interest groups.

Mayor Richard Daley is expected to interview three candidates and choose a replacement for retired Chicago Police Supt. Terry Hillard.

The finalists are Acting Supt. Phil Cline, Winnetka Police Chief Joseph DeLopez and New York City Deputy Commissioner Garry McCarthy.

Cline, 53, promoted to first deputy superintendent earlier this year, assumed the superintendent's duties when Hillard retired.

DeLopez, 56, was a 31-year Chicago police veteran who resigned last year as deputy superintendent of the Bureau of Technical Services for "personal reasons" and took the chief's job in Winnetka.

McCarthy, 44, is a 22-year New York Police Department veteran who started his career as a beat cop in the South Bronx.

McCarthy is credited for implementing NYPD's highly acclaimed Compstat program, which deploys officers to the highest crime areas and holds high-ranking police officials accountable for reducing crime.

While overall crime is down, Chicago still managed to rack up 646 murders in 2002, second only to more-populous Los Angeles, with 653 homicides. New York, with twice the population of Chicago, had 580 murders in 2002.

In May, Chicago police unleashed about 200 uniformed police and undercover officers into the Englewood and the Back of the Yards communities under orders to be aggressive.

A month later, the department announced the creation of five gang strategy teams to help reduce gang-related violence.

Friday, police announced that 32 fewer murders had occurred this year than at this time in 2002. There were 47 homicides in August, down from 76 in August of last year.

Chicago police spokesman David Bayless has said redeploying cops to hotspots didn't mean the department was at odds with community policing — but it did mean "putting resources where the problems are taking place."

Demetrius Carney, the police board's president, has said reducing gang activity, drug dealing and murders were the board's "three big issues" in choosing the finalists.

Feeling left out

While business owners in Roseland acknowledge the need to reduce neighborhood crime, they can't help but feel neglected.

For years, the Roseland Business Development Council has been trying to stabilize and revitalize the Michigan Avenue shopping corridor between 103rd and 115th streets.

Three decades ago, a lively, bustling retail district thrived in Roseland. But when the steel industry declined, stores closed or moved when thousands of jobs were lost, and crime moved in. The ensuing proliferation of liquor stores fueled robberies, loitering and other trouble that deterred shoppers.

John Edwards, owner of Edward's Fashions and president of the business council, said police had patrolled Roseland's shopping area for decades, providing at least some deterrence to criminals.

He's tried to get the foot patrols back, to no avail. There's no one to regulate parking or to enforce the community's new ordinance against peddling, he said.

In June, a drive-by shooting occurred in front of a bank on Michigan Avenue. One injured man ran into the bank. The other ran to Roseland Community Hospital, a few blocks away.

Edwards suggested the shooter might have stayed away if he knew police were walking the beat.

"We see that (the lack of walking patrols) is not creating the kind of environment that really gets us what the community needs," Edwards said recently. "It's better to be proactive than reactive, that's our position."

Ald. Anthony Beale (9th), who represents the area, said the murder rate in the community is up over last year, and that Calumet District Cmdr. Kelly has put more cops where they are most needed.

"We're having some problems, and we have to redistribute the manpower to get a handle on things more important than foot patrols," Beale said. "My residents that live and pay taxes in the community are my first concern. Once things settle down, we'll put the foot patrol back."

Better safe than lucky

South Chicago has a busy commercial center. But the predominantly black and Hispanic community has struggled to control gang activity and recover from the fall of the steel industry.

When Taste of Chicago kicks off, when the Chicago Bears or White Sox play, noticeably fewer cops are seen throughout South Chicago, said Neil Bosanko, president of the South Chicago Chamber of Commerce.

Fewer still can be found near the stores, Bosanko said.

Two beat cops officially are assigned to the shopping areas, he said, but a police manpower shortage has made the South Chicago area "a secondary priority."

The problem, he said, is the lack of consistency.

"It's been a problem for the last year," Bosanko said. "The actual amount of time (where cops are) out walking the beat is a concern for all of us with businesses on the Southeast Side."

In the Morgan Park and Beverly Hills shopping areas on the Southwest Side, police can be seen more often walking around.

But it hasn't been easy keeping it that way, said Donna Redmond, executive director of the Morgan Park/Beverly Hills Business Association.

Walking patrols of shopping areas on Western Avenue were eliminated a few years ago by a previous 22nd District commander, who wanted more police available in rapid-response cars to handle major crime, she said.

"That was not taken too highly by the business community at all," recalled Redmond, who's been the association's director for nine years. The foot patrols were later reinstated by a different commander.

"We fought long and hard, and we were a constant thorn in their side when we didn't have (walking patrols)," she said.

In Chinatown and its thriving commercial district, a well-known community policing officer, Bob Swiderski, regularly patrols the streets and assists victims of crimes.

"There are times when police can be a little lax, so when we call them after a burglary, they increase things," said Jimmy Lee, executive director of the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce.

In Hegewisch, walking patrols are rare, but there is far less crime in Hegewisch than in some surrounding communities, said Janice Minton-Kutz, director of the Hegewisch Chamber of Commerce.

Volunteers with radios walked the shopping district about eight years ago, but the pool of volunteers and access to radios dried up, she said.

"We would like to have another beat car in the area, but we're always told we don't have enough crime," Minton-Kutz said. "Luckily, Hegewisch has been relatively peaceful for a long, long time."

While some Chicago communities may be lucky, Johnson would rather feel safe, not lucky, in her Roseland store.

She can't forget the stores that have moved or closed because of persistent crime.

"I don't feel comfortable sitting in here alone, since the police are not on the street any more," Johnson said.

"It's not the safest place to be for any of us, because of the things that happen around here."

John Dobberstein may be reached at jdobberstein@dailysouthtown.com or (708) 633-5992.